Last month’s review of Steve Finkel’s brand-new book was extremely well received, particularly as it addresses critical topics never before covered in any detail for our industry. As a follow-up, with his permission, we are printing the introduction to the book Closing for Recruiters! Frequently the difference between a fee and wasted effort is closing skill. This remarkable book is a powerful assist in completing searches that might otherwise have been lost.

For complete information and to receive your copy, visit his website at https://www.stevefinkel.com/books/.  Highly recommended.

Closing for Recruiters: INTRODUCTION

 “To write a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme.”

~Herman Melville

Introduce the subject of closing to a group of recruiters – even experienced ones – and see what happens.  Chances are pretty good you’ll hear one of three things.

“If you do everything right up front,” some will say, “the close becomes automatic.”

Others will tell you, “Closing is a process, not an event. If you build a series of trial closes throughout the placement process, you won’t have to close.”

Then there are those that will say, “I get 75% of my offers accepted.  No matter what I do, it is 75%.  That’s what I get.”  

                                     Closing As An Obligation

Top industry trainer Larry Nobles, the author of the finest foundational training book ever written, wrote a noteworthy article some years ago entitled “Closing as an Obligation.” He pointed out that the value we bring to our client is not entirely our ability to find, recruit and select qualified candidates; rather, it is our ability -- once the client has made a decision to extend an offer-- to get that candidate to accept the offer.

“Our worth to the client is not solely at the beginning of the search,” wrote Mr. Nobles. “Rather, it is at the end. One VP told me that my core benefit to him wasn’t that I could find good candidates for him, but that I could help him hire them. Thus, for both your personal income and to uphold your duty to the client, you need to do everything within reason to ensure that the candidate says yes to the offer.”

What do you bring to the table?

Let’s face it. There are other ways the prospective client can find candidates other than through us. Many in our industry are overly dependent on techno/digital means of doing so. LinkedIn/ ZipRecruiter/Indeed/miscellaneous jobsites and software programs... The list goes on and on. These recruiters don’t stop to realize that every source of identifying candidates through these means is also available to the client. 

Then too, we are in an offshore economy these days. There are plenty of IT-conversant people in India, the Philippines. Sri Lanka or similar countries that will happily employ these exact same sources and send out emails ... for three dollars an hour!  

That’s why the best recruiters are skilled at identifying candidates not available through these means.  

But that’s only what you bring to the table early. The ability to close the candidate is what gets you paid.  No job board, no Third World recruiter, no AI-oriented person can deliver that. And it’s even more important!

But first..,

Before we can address closing, however, we have to determine what the candidate perceives as the strengths and weaknesses of the opportunity. You can’t just start throwing closes – regardless of how excellent they might be – at a candidate without actually tailoring the call to what’s needed. And that’s why this is actually a two-part book.

We can greatly increase our results -- that means actually closing the search and earning the fee-- from improvement at follow-up after first interview with candidate.

Where have you focused?

Yet, how much time have you spent developing and polishing these skills? If you set up two interviews a week, that means you follow up twice a week. Some people set up more and some less. But how good would you be at recruiting if you made only two recruiting calls a week? And how much of your foundational training and follow-up practice was spent in this area? You know the answer.

When you really do an excellent job at “debriefing” the candidate, you significantly improve your chances of gaining both an offer and acceptance. And a fee. And by doing that excellent job, you also find out where you need to orient yourself in terms of planning the closing call. 

The best closing skills will serve little purpose if they are wrongly directed. And a good follow-up call alone will enhance your chances of an acceptance.

That’s why this is a two-part book: follow-up after interview with candidate. And closing.  The combination will enhance your production dramatically.

Without genuine closing skills built on a foundation of debriefing the candidate, you will simply lose many fees that should be yours. But with these new skills, you will find yourself able to not just increase production by a very significant margin but will provide the client with what he really needs – top candidates who accept the offer.

Victory!

There’s something else we ought to straightforwardly address as well, though it’s not often talked about in our industry. And that’s the raw emotion of success.

There is a great deal to be said for doing a good job on a day-by-day basis, and not just in our field. George Washington kept his favorite quote by English playwright Joseph Addison framed in his office when he was president.

“'Tis not in mortals to command success, but we'll do more, Sempronius. We'll deserve it.”

And doing your best every day is deserving it.

But the facts are that you might say the same about most jobs, if the practitioner is serious. Your candidates should feel satisfaction at the end of their days as well.

But we are different. We are involved in big-ticket selling. And that means occasionally – hopefully more than occasionally – we reach the summit of the mountain! We win the gold medal. We are crowned the champion. We close the deal. And when that happens, we have every right to feel that we are the best in the world. I do. And you should as well. If you are new in this industry, let me assure you, the thrill never fades.

Closing adds

Closing skills will enable you to fully benefit from everything you have done leading up to that point. With those skills – and I include follow-up as well – you will generate more revenues that others will have missed and thus experience the thrill of victory more often. And when you turn the candidate around or move that candidate from a 70-30 chance to a 100% chance, you will enjoy an adrenaline charge that will last for days and which can be achieved in very few other professions.

An open mind

I’d like to address the experienced people who will likely make up the majority of readers. I thoroughly believe that you are the best in the world at recruiting. But you must also acknowledge that no matter how many decades you have in this business, you are not perfect and you can improve.

Despite your experience, we are dealing with subjects here –debriefing and closing – that have never been addressed in this detail and specificity. You will probably see some familiarity in the debriefing section with what you already know. But not like this. You may assume that you can “pick up a few things here and there.” Don’t think that way.

Let me refer you to a genuinely great sales trainer – Tom Hopkins. His flagship book  How to Master the Art of Selling has sold nearly 2 million copies, an astounding number for a book of this nature.

Here’s what he wrote about when he was first exposed as an experienced salesman to serious closing techniques in a seminar with J. Douglas Edwards, author of the book Sales Closing Power.

“I often think about my introduction to serious closing techniques. As I sat there in Doug’s seminar that first morning, I was mentally challenging the material. In fact, I was spending more energy fighting it than trying to learn it. 

Suddenly I caught a glimpse of what knowing these techniques could mean – a sort of future-flash. During the next few moments, I made a conscious and highly emotional decision to throw away my fears and give it my all. Five days later, I came out of that training with confidence in my heart and determination in my soul.

I saw a tremendous improvement, but I wasn’t satisfied. Months and years later as I reviewed the material, I could hardly believe how much I had overlooked and failed to grasp, and how much I had forgotten.  I realized I had not really mastered the entire range of techniques. But I had felt its power.”

This applies to you. Don’t fight the material, and don’t settle for “picking up a few things here and there.”  It will take you a while and a good deal of practice to build what you will learn into your methodology. Take a step at a time. No matter how great you are, you can be better. And your production will soar.

Instructions for Use

Let’s talk investment in your career.

To gain fully from this book, you need to highlight. Or underline. Mark up the book. Repeatedly. Then start over. You need to read it more than once. In some chapters, you will see role-playing exercises to improve and monitor your skills. Don’t just read them and say, “Gee, good stuff.” Do the exercises. Invent those of your own. Do it right. Invest in your career.

You – no matter how skilled you are – have the ability to expand your billings dramatically if you are willing to learn, practice and implement in these overlooked portions of our business.

Let’s begin. 

For complete information and to secure your copy of this groundbreaking original book Closing for Recruiters!,  visit

https://www.stevefinkel.com/books/.  Highly recommended.